8.2 /10 1 Votes
Publication date 1974 | 4.1/5 Goodreads Originally published 1974 Country India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mayyazhippuzhayude theerangalil 1 narration
Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil (On the Banks of the River Mayyazhi) is a Malayalam language novel by M. Mukundan. Widely regarded as the author's magnum opus, the novel vividly describes the political and social background of Mahe (Mayyazhi), the former French colony, in the past, in a mystical way. The novel was translated into English and French, both the versions winning accolades.
Contents
Historic Background
The novel is based upon the lives of a few families of Mahe enclave. The new generation in Mahe wanted to merge the French enclave with India. The older people were loyal to the French rulers and believed in a romantic charm of the colonial rule. Two persons called Kanaran and Dasan take leadership of the fight against the French. The novel includes finer details about the romance of French rule in Mahe. The streets of Mahe with French names revoke an old charm. There is a christian church and many Hindu temples mentioned in the story. The story describes the first revolution when the activists removed the national flag from one of the government offices. This revolution was certainly a failure as the French navy came and the activists fled across the Mahe Bridge. The second and final revolution was however successful and the French rulers escaped by ship.
The Plot
The protagonist in the novel is a young Indian called Dasan who was born in French Mahe and got educated in Pondicherry. Even though he was offered a job in the French administration and assistance for higher education in Paris, he preferred to join the freedom struggle. He was attracted by communist ideology. He joins the freedom movement led buy Gandhian Kanaran. A pretty girl called Chandrika falls in love with him but he is not able to promise her a married life because of his commitment to the revolution. The French Judge sentences Dasan for 12 years of imprisonment but Dasan escapes captivity by walking across to the Indian union. Very soon he comes back to Mahe leading a group of volunteers and frees Mahe from the foreign rule. The French national flag is removed and the Indian national flag is hoisted on the administration buildings. In spite of being a local hero, he struggles for his livelihood as he refused to accept an employment and join the mainstream lifestyle. His girl friend is forced by her parents to marry another man and she commits suicide. Dasan also follows her way to reach the abode of the soul on the Velliyankallu island on Mahe coast.